Chapter 65: Masquerade ball [4]
"..."
Her outstretched hand reached for mine.
She was close.
...Getting closer.
’She hasn’t noticed anything, right? No, that’s not possible. How could she notice a single thing?’
Her hand grasped mine.
We both lifted them at the same time.
And then—
Dong!
The music began. It was an elegant and cheerful piece. From the moment the note played, it was as if the entire room lit up.
The tune effortlessly flowed into my ears, and my steps began to move on their own.
I wasn’t the only one like this.
...I looked around to see everyone moving at the same pace.
This...
I slowly turned my gaze towards the man in the golden mask.
Was this his doing?
[Oh, what a wonderful piece! Amazing!]
The host started praising the man in the golden mask. That served as enough evidence for me to tell that he was the one responsible for my sudden movements.
"Tsk."
I heard someone click their tongue.
Turning my head, I saw Zoey staring in the direction of the man with the golden mask.
"Lucky bastard."
Rather than scared or nervous about the situation, she was...
Angry?
"If I had been the one called, I would’ve been able to do the same."
Ah.
That was when it all hit me.
’They’re all lunatics. Of course, they’re going to act like this.’
I should’ve seen it coming from miles away.
"Who are you...?"
But then, the inevitable question came.
Zoey’s emerald eyes were locked with mine.
"You very clearly don’t belong with us. I can tell you’re not some anomalous entity, and yet, you were somehow able to summon one. What is your purpose?"
Her grip over my hands tightened.
’It hurts...’
"Are you not going to answer?"
Zoey took a step forward, and I followed along.
We were both puppets now, bound by the music. It told us what we needed to do.
All we had to do was follow along.
"Are you the one responsible for the sudden increase in difficulty of the gate?"
Her questions kept coming.
Questions that I myself couldn’t answer.
Just let this end quickly...
[Increase the tempo.]
".....?"
I slowly turned to see the host staring in the direction of the pianist.
[Your music is wonderful, but the dancing is getting stale. Increase the tempo. ]
Da— Dang!
And increase he did.
The shift was felt by practically everyone.
My legs moved faster, and my heartbeat sped up.
Shit...
From the sudden rise in intensity, I realized that my breathing was slowly starting to intensify.
This was starting to feel like a workout. I thought about my stamina and felt like throwing up on the spot.
If this continued, then...
’No, don’t think about it.’
I put those thoughts aside and tried my best to keep up with the dance.
But it was starting to get very hard.
Swoosh!
Zoey pulled me down, and I just followed along, our masks just barely brushing.
".....!"
My skin crawled when I saw her emerald eyes peering right into me.
That look of hers...
How many times had I seen it before?
She was analyzing me.
"Your eyes... they feel familiar."
My heart skipped as we rose again.
Swoosh!
I raised our hands; she spun beneath, then returned. I wrapped an arm around her waist.
We were even closer now.
So were her eyes.
"Yes... they certainly feel familiar. Do I know you?"
"....."
I blinked slowly.
She was as sharp as her character was designed to be.
"Your palms are sweating. Nervous?"
No, I’m just tired.
"...Am I onto something?"
Her face came closer, her mouth whispering to me.
I could feel her lips slowly pulling up.
"Keeping a pretty lady waiting?"
’This is bad. ’
It was as if she was able to deduce things the more she looked at me. This sort of broken ability... It really had to belong to her, didn’t it?
I had been swept into an unexpected catastrophe. No, I can’t lose my composure here... I had to remain firm. I’d be done for if I let the panic take over.
I had to remain calm and show nothing.
She was only going on a hunch. If I played my cards right, then I’d be able to get her off my back.
’How exactly can I turn this situation around?’
I had to think.
Think...
And that was when it happened.
Hick...
A soft, subtle crying echoed through the ballroom.
Every guild member’s head turned upward in perfect unison.
Zoey inclunded.
Hick... Hick...
It sounded like a little girl. The voice was faint, but it crawled into my ears, burrowing deep.
A chill ran down my spine. I tried to ignore it—
BANG!
The ballroom door slammed shut.
".....!"
The floor trembled. Windows rattled. Everything in the room started to shake, and the temperature of the room seemed to suddenly drop.
Cold...
[Like I said. Don’t mind the crying. Just focus on your dance.]
The host and the NPCs appeared wholly unperturbed by the situation as they continued to dance.
But me?
I could barely focus.
BANG! BANG!
The doors opened, slammed, and trembled again.
My balance faltered. My breath grew shorter.
’Get a grip!’
I bit down on my tongue to ground myself.
I thought I was holding it together—
Until I realized I was the only one struggling.
Everyone else glided across the ballroom effortlessly, masks serene, movements fluid. Zoey, too as she kept her eyes closed, her mind focused on the task at hand.
That’s when the sinking feeling hit me.
’I’m going to fail this, aren’t I?’
I looked around to see that I was the only one making mistakes.
They were small, but they were piling up.
No, I can’t fail. Not like this...
I increased my focus, following the music that I could barely hear through the trembling of the room.
BANG!
The door slammed once more, this time harder than before.
I silently clenched my teeth.
’Damn it, make it stop.’
Hick.. Hick...
But the crying persisted. It came from all directions, but at the same time, it felt like it was coming from my head directly.
I felt shivers knowing this.
But I had to focus on the dance.
And that was what I did.
Thankfully, the crying soon stopped. It merely lasted a couple of minutes.
But it was also at that moment that the music in the air had come to an end.
Dang!
And soon enough, the final note rang out.
The music stopped, and everyone managed to pull themselves away from their partner.
Me inclunded.
Applause filled the air.
The host clapped, his face beaming as he turned toward the man in the golden mask.
[Wonderful! That was an absolutely stunning performance! Extremely amazing! I have no words to say! No, well...]
He paused, and the entire room held its breath.
Then, slowly—
[Though you tried your best to mask your mistakes, I did notice a few. Such a pity... it could’ve been a perfect piece.]
I noticed a visible shift in the man in the golden masks’ features. He clearly didn’t seem to have expected this sort of feedback.
Judging from the expression he wore when the piece ended, he appeared to be confident in what he had shown.
But...
Even that wasn’t good enough.
But if that wasn’t enough, what was?
Tensions rose.
I lowered my head to keep my presence as low as possible.
My thoughts were elsewhere.
Could the host not have noticed my mistakes? They were really small, so it shouldn’t be a problem...
I desperately recalled the dance and frantically thought back to any possible mistake that I could’ve made during the dance. There were quite a few, but they were very small.
Surely he wouldn’t notice.
Yes, he might not notice.
I slowly raised my head back up.
But—
[If you had to rate your performance, how would you rate it?]
The host was already in front of me.
When did...!?
[I’ll decide based on your words, how about it?]
His lips pulled into a creepy smile.